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GOD'S LOVE IS...

Week 2 - God's Love is FORGIVING

This week’s Bible material is based around the paralysed man, who was lowered through the roof by four faith filled friends, who was not only healed but forgiven, found in Mark’s Gospel chapter 2.

part 1

lead-in session Drama

Outline for Leaders

The purpose of this drama is to demonstrate how God’s love is forgiving because His love washes away all of the wrong we have done and gives us a new start. In the drama the artist's canvas gets messed up, but in the end it is changed for a brand new clean sheet. Similarly, Jesus gives everyone the opportunity to put the past behind and start a new life with Him.  

Characters: Bill and Tom

Props: Some kind of artist’s easel (flip-chart stand, or chair will do), paints, brushes, french style artist’s beret (or similar), 2 sheets of paper or card for canvases, face paints. A couple of pieces of white card as canvasses, but you may wish to use pieces of paper clipped to a board.    

Drama - The Artist's Canvas

(Bill comes onto the stage through the door with brushes in hand, and walks across to the easel / canvass. Turning to address the kids.)

Bill: Hi kids I’m going to paint something for you today – here we go.

(Bill begins to paint a flower (or something else) and after a few strokes turns to face the children.)

Bill – I like painting, I find it relaxing, here I'm painting a flower.

(Whilst Bill is talking to the kids, Tom creeps around from the back of the stage and dabs a couple of marks of paint onto Bill’s painting when he's not looking before disappearing.)

Bill: (Bill turns around and is aghast) What! I don’t remember putting those marks on the canvass. I must have slipped, I’ll have to cover over them somehow later.

(Bill puts a few more strokes on the canvass and turns back to the kids.)

Bill: So you see kids you can mix lots of colours from just a few primary colours.

(Whilst Bill is talking once again Tom appears and adds a few more marks on the painting, then disappears once more.)

Bill: (Turning round to see even more marks on his canvass Bill is once again shocked but with a thoughtful face scratching his head) I've got a feeling Tom has got something to do with this, where is he, I’ll have him.

(Bill sets off to catch Tom and confronts him behind the stage.)

Bill: (Bill & Tom have a few heated words back stage so that the kids can hear them but not see them). Now look here Tom, what are you doing spoiling my painting?

Tom: It was only a bit of fun.

(After a few moments, Bill and Tom emerge both having splatters of fake paint on their faces. Suitable face paint applied back stage.)

Bill: Well here’s another fine mess you’ve got us into Tom and just look at my canvass, it’s ruined!

Tom: Ah, sorry Bill, I didn’t mean to upset you. But to be honest, you weren’t making a very good job of the painting anyway. Tell you what, I can sort this out.

(Tom disappears back stage and returns with a brand new, nice, clean white canvass.)

Tom: There you go Bill, how’s that.

Bill: Yeah, that’s great Tom, and you were right I wasn’t making a very good job of the painting, it’ll be nice to start over with a clean sheet.

Kids, sometimes it’s not just pictures that get messed up. We can make a mess of our lives too, not with paint, but by the things we do, being selfish, telling lies, cheating, and being unkind to others. Just like I got a nice brand new clean canvass, to start over again, Jesus can give us a fresh clean start too. Isn’t that great! You see God’s love is FORGIVING and Jesus came to forgive us and take away all of the rubbish and things we are not proud of in our lives. 

part 2   

Bible Chat

Four Faith Filled Friends
(Mark chapter 2 verses 1 - 8) 

Outline for Leaders

In Mark, we read this wonderful account of four friends who against all the odds, present their paralysed friend to Jesus in a very unconventional way! Having made a sizeable hole in the house owner’s roof the friends lower the sick man to Jesus. Jesus, before healing the man deals with his heart, He tells him that his sins are forgiven. The man didn’t ask audibly for forgiveness but no doubt Jesus knew what he was thinking. The man left the house, not only physically whole, but spiritually. In this story we see that Jesus has the authority to forgive.
         

Bible Chat for Kids

Props needed:

• Small blanket

• Rope

• Thinking bubble with a question mark (made from paper or card)

• Paperchain of 15 people

• Paperchain of 4 people

• Large piece of card flat roof shaped with a hole in it

• Piece of card with a door cut out that can be pushed open

  Place props in a story telling suitcase or story bag and take them out one by one as the story is told.

Today’s story is one of my favourite stories in the New Testament. It involves four amazing friends, who did an amazing thing. One day Jesus visited a place called Capernaum, lots of people wanted to see him (show the paperchain of 15 people) and listen to His teaching. Soon the house where Jesus was staying was crowded out with people, there were even people straining to hear Him outside the door.

Now there was a man who couldn’t walk, he was paralysed and he desperately wanted to see Jesus too. He had four very good friends (show paper chain of four people) who decided to take him to the house where Jesus was. As soon as they arrived they could see that there was no way they could get their friend to Jesus, they were so disappointed, whatever could they do? Then one of them came up with a plan, it seemed crazy but he shared his idea of climbing onto the roof of the house, making a big hole in it (show roof with hole in) so that they could lower their friend on a blanket (show blanket and rope) with four ropes to Jesus. What a great idea. You see in those days houses had flat roofs with stairs going up at the side of the house, so that made their plan easier than the sort of roofs we have today.

Can you imagine being one of the crowd in the house that day listening to what Jesus had to say, when suddenly there was a big noise above you and bits of plaster falling on your head as the four friends made a big hole? Imagine if you owned the house! (Show the thinking bubble.) You would no doubt be thinking who is ruining my roof? Then to everyone’s utter amazement a paralysed man is lowered through the hole to where Jesus is standing.

Jesus looked up to the hole in the roof and saw the four friends eagerly hoping that Jesus would heal their friend. He could see that they had faith in Him.

Now what happened next is interesting, you would think that Jesus would immediately heal the man but instead He told him that his sins – all the things that he had ever done wrong, were forgiven. We don’t know what the paralysed man was thinking (show the thinking bubble), maybe he felt ashamed of his past coming before Jesus. Remember Jesus knew what people were thinking and He gave the man peace in knowing his past wrongs were all forgiven.

But there were some religious leaders in the crowd who were thinking how could Jesus forgive this man, only God could do that! (Show thinking bubble.) Again, Jesus knew what they were thinking and so he turned to them and said, ‘’which is easiest saying your sins are forgiven or get up, take your mat and walk.’’ So Jesus turned to the paralysed man and told him to do just that, and he did! He came into the house through the roof on a mat (show blanket again) and left through the front door (show card with cut out door and push it open) on his own two feet. How awesome is that!

Everyone in the house was amazed at what happened that day and I am sure they never forgot it. They saw a wonderful miracle but they also found that Jesus has the authority – that means He has the power to forgive sins. Remember God’s love is forgiving. The Bible tells us that if we tell God what we have done wrong He will forgive us, no doubt about it. That’s good news isn’t it.

I am sure those four friends ran to meet their friend and gave him a great big hug. I am also sure that the healed man couldn’t thank them enough for coming up with such a brave plan and having such faith in Jesus.

Part 3

Response Time (in small groups) 

Have prepared a large thinking bubble and ask the children the following questions:

1.    What were the four friends thinking when they saw the house where Jesus was full of people? (how could they get their friend to Jesus)

2.    When Jesus looked up to the hole in the roof and saw the four friends what was He thinking? (they had great faith)

3.    What do you think the paralysed man might have been thinking when he saw Jesus?

4.    What was the religious leaders thinking about forgiveness? (only God can forgive sins)

Remind the children that God’s love is forgiving. Although the miracle of healing was awesome, God’s forgiveness is even more awesome. Jesus died on a cross so that we can receive God’s forgiveness, and have a fresh clean start, just like the painting in the drama earlier.

Invite the children to pray and if they want to tell God about something they want Him to forgive, give them space to do so.

 Week 1 DOWNLOADS

Drama Script, Bible Chat and Response Time Leaders’ Notes
PowerPoint Week 2 - Key Phrase Slide